Final Paper

MSL 630

Leading Productive Teams

Belhaven University

Unit 5

 Nature vs. Nurture

 Team Creativity

 Subgroups

 Acts of Service

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In Unit Five, the Course Level Competencies are:

 Objective 1.1: Evaluate and research leadership skills as they pertain to

the professional area of interest.

 Objective 2.1: Define and identify components of best practices of

productive teams.

 Objective 2.2: Evaluate and research team problems and make

recommendations for change.

 Objective 3.2: Identify key components in developing appreciation in the

workplace.

 Objective 4.1: Demonstrate and articulate decision-making and problem-

solving skills of leaders.

 Objective 5.1: Demonstrate professional conduct in oral communication,

written communication, and punctuality.

 Objective 5.2: Identify Christian perspectives as they relate to the course.

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Objectives

MSL 630

Leading Productive Teams

Belhaven University

Unit 5.1

 Nature vs. Nurture

 Creativity vs Innovation

 Brainstorming

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Leading Productive Teams

What does it take to follow a leader?

 Creativity requires a departure from tradition and the

appropriate way of conducting business.

 Creativity is a characteristic of both individuals and groups.

 Qualities of creative people:

• Passionate about specific things.

• Motivated to understand the world and are high in

epistemic motivation.

• Hard-working (at least 10 years to develop expertise

in domain).

Nature vs. Nurture

Nature vs. Nurture

 Creative combinations of people can be more effective

than trying to select creative people.

 For this reason, companies should select people who are

passionate and skilled in what they do and bring those

people together with others who are different in terms of

knowledge base and approaches to problems.

 Creativity is more a function of the right idea at the right

time than a chronic disposition.

Nature vs. Nurture, cont.

 Creativity or ideation is the

production of novel and useful ideas

– the ability to form new concepts

using existing knowledge.

 Innovation is the realization of

novel and useful ideas in the

form of products and services.

Creativity vs. Innovation

There are two key skills involved in creative thinking:

 Convergent thinking:

 Divergent thinking:

• Thinking that proceeds toward a single answer.

• Ideas evaluated as to their feasibility, practicality,

and overall merit.

• Thinking that moves outward from the problem in

many directions without boundaries.

Convergent vs. Divergent Thinking

• Task conflict stimulate divergent thinking in teams.

Creativity vs. Innovation, cont.

• Creative synthesis- a process in which innovation

occurs by emphasizing affirmation rather than negation,

and integration of the differing perspectives.

Radical vs. Incremental Innovation

• Creative ideas fall somewhere between two indices:

feasibility and value.

Creativity vs. Innovation, cont.

One common way of evaluating the creativity of

a person’s (or team’s) ideas is via three indices:

• Fluency – how many ideas a person

(or team) generates.

• Flexibility – how many types of ideas a person

(or team) generates.

• Originality – the ability to generate unusual

solutions and unique answers to problems.

Evaluating Creativity

Creativity vs. Innovation, cont.

Exploration and Exploitation

Two types of idea processes that companies pursue:

• Exploration - activities such as search,

risk taking, and experimentation around

an idea.

• Exploitation - activities that refine and

implement an idea.

Creativity vs. Innovation, cont.

Brainstorming

• Alex Osborn, an advertising executive in the 1950’s,

believed that one of the main hindrances to organizational

creativity was the premature evaluation of ideas.

• Osborn developed the brainstorming process to maximize

the quality and quantity of ideas, and defer idea judgment.

• Osborn believed that the ideas generated by one person in

a team could stimulate ideas in other people in a

synergistic fashion; known as cognitive stimulation.

• Osborn’s rules for brainstorming.

Brainstorming vs. Brainwriting

 Brainwriting is the simultaneous generation of written

ideas.

 Benefits of brainwriting:

• Eliminates production blocking.

• Reduces conformity, increases divergent thinking.

• Written ideas can be shared by the group,

discussed, and voted upon.

• Lower instances of social loafing.

Brainwriting

Brainstorming vs. Brainwriting, cont.

Also known as “EBS”, electronic brainstorming uses information

technology to allow members to interact and exchange ideas.

Advantages of

Electronic Brainstorming:

• Parallel entry of ideas

• Anonymity

• Size

• Proximity

• Equality

• Organizational memory

• Refinement and evaluation

Disadvantages of

Electronic Brainstorming:

• Loss of social interaction

• Lack of recognition

Electronic Brainstorming

Brainstorming vs. Brainwriting, cont.

Unit 5.1 Recap

 Ending 5.1 and getting into 5.2

 Treats to Team Creativity

 Intergroup Relations

 Subgroups

MSL 630

Leading Productive Teams

Belhaven University

Unit 5.2

 Treats to Team Creativity

 Intergroup Relations

 Subgroups

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 Four major problems stifle the

effectiveness of team brainstorming:

• Social loafing

• Conformity

• Production blocking (coordination problems)

• Performance matching (downward norm setting)

Team Brainstorming Roadblocks

Threats to Team Creativity

 People in brainstorming groups often:

• Fail to follow/abide by rules of brainstorming.

• Experience inhibitions, anxiety, and self-presentational concerns.

• Suffer decreased production.

• Participate in nonproductive social rituals.

• Set their performance benchmarks too low.

• Conform in terms of ideas.

• Conform in terms of rate of idea generation.

What goes on during a typical group brainstorming

session?

Threats to Team Creativity, cont.

 Motivational methods and actions that team leaders can take to ward off problems inherent to the brainstorming process:

• Set high-quantity goals

• Competition

• Regulatory fit

• Increase individual accountability

• Energizing moods

Best Practices for Enhancing

Team Creativity

 Cognitive methods and actions that team leaders can take to

ward off problems inherent to the brainstorming process:

• Categories

• Explicit set of rules

• Feedback

• Analogies

• Episodic memory

Best Practices for Enhancing

Team Creativity, cont.

 Facilitator-led methods that team leaders can take to ward off problems inherent to the brainstorming process:

• Use trained facilitators

• Take brief breaks

• Background noise helps concentration

• Nominal group technique

• Delphi technique

• Stepladder technique

Best Practices for Enhancing

Team Creativity, cont.

 Leader and organizational methods that team leaders can take to ward off problems inherent to the brainstorming process:

• Diversify the team

• Organizational networking

• Team empowerment

• Fluid membership

Best Practices for Enhancing

Team Creativity, cont.

• Team members categorize themselves and others in terms

of in-groups.

• In-groups are people who are like the team/subgroup

or are people who belong to the same groups as the

team/subgroup.

• Out-groups are people who are not in their group or who

are members of competitor groups.

In-groups and Out-groups

Intergroup Relations

Intergroup Relations, cont.

• Social comparison – when a comparable team performs

similarly to or better than your team, the identity of your team

is threatened.

• Team rivalry – companies often try to create rivalry between

different groups within the organization.

• In-group bias – the tendency to favor one’s own group at the

expense of outgroups.

Implications of Categorizations

• Transgression credit – people forgive serious

transgressions by in-group leaders but not by out-group

members or leaders.

Intergroup Relations, cont.

 Subgroups are a subset of members of the same team

who are defined by two specific criteria:

• The subgroup is characterized by a degree of

interdependence that is unique when compared to that

of other members.

• The subgroup’s membership and task are formally

recognized by the organization.

Defining Criteria

Subgroups

• Work teams often have at least two subgroups and

may have multiple subgroups.

• Most subgroups have between 2 – 6 members.

Defining Criteria

• A larger number (greater than 2) of knowledge-based

subgroups is better for overall team performance.

• Teams are more adversely affected by two identity-

based subgroups than by any other number.

Subgroups, cont.

• Resource-based subgroups control access to

desired resources including power, information,

authority, and status.

Subgroups are characterized by 3 key factors:

Identity, Resource, and Knowledge-based

Subgroups

• Knowledge-based sub-groups are people who

share unique information, technical languages,

and symbols.

• Identity-based sub-groups share important values

and social characteristics.

Subgroups, cont.

• Team members’ individual perceptions about the presence

of subgroups within the team has a negative effect on

team performance and can decrease the team’s

transactive memory system.

Impact on Performance

• Teams perform better when identity-based subgroups are

imbalanced, such that majorities and minorities are

present and knowledge-based subgroups are balanced.

Subgroups, cont.

• Groups with faultlines often do not collaborate

with other subgroups, instead preferring to share

knowledge only within their subgroup.

 Faultlines are subgroups within teams that typically

emerge along various demographic lines.

Faultlines

• Groups with strong faultlines are more likely to

identify not with their group as a whole, but rather,

with subgroups inside the team.

Subgroups, cont.

• Are all demographic attributes categorical versus

numerical?

 To properly determine a faultline measure, four factors

should be considered:

Detecting and Measuring Faultlines

• Are more than two subgroups possible within the team?

• Which team members belong to which subgroups and

what is the size of those subgroups?

• Can the group have more than 10 members?

Subgroups, cont.

• The negative relationship between group

faultlines and performance can be minimized

when groups are aligned with their results

orientation.

 Goals

• Teams with gender and educational faultlines

perform better when they share superordinate

goals, especially when their roles are crosscut.

Subgroups, cont.

• Focus on task orientation when a team is newly formed.

Managing Faultlines

• Diagnose the probability of faultlines emerging and

emphasize task-oriented leadership early in the project.

 Although faultlines can emerge in many groups, managers can

thwart the problems of faultlines by taking certain steps:

• Know when to switch from task to relationship orientation.

• Switch to relationship building at the right time.

Subgroups, cont.

Status

• Team members form expectations about each person’s

probable contributions to the team based on the personal

characteristics people reveal to one another and those that are

readily apparent.

• Status systems in teams develop very quickly, often within

minutes after most teams are formed.

• In organizations, high-status groups are perceived to possess

agency, however the mere presence of status hierarchies

within a group may hinder group performance.

Subgroups, cont.

Status

• Team members who overestimate their status in groups

are less liked by others, are paid less for their work, and

are often socially punished by the team because the

members see them as disruptive to the group’s process.

• In status hierarchies, low-status group members are

motivated to compete with others to advance their status

in the hierarchy.

• Prototypical members of groups feel secure about their

membership, whereas peripheral representatives have a

less certain position.

Subgroups, cont.

Unit 5.2 Recap

 Ending 5.2 and getting into 5.3

 Team Boundaries

 Teams in Matrix Organizations

 Acts of Service

MSL630

Leading Productive Teams

Belhaven University

Unit 5.3

 Team Boundaries

 Teams in Matrix Organizations

 Acts of Service

37

• Team boundaries differentiate one work group from another

and affect knowledge transfer and distribution of resources.

• If the boundary becomes too open or indistinct, the team

risks becoming overwhelmed and loses its identity.

• An underbounded team has many external ties but an

inability to coalesce and motivate members to pull together.

Underbounded vs. Overbounded Teams

Team Boundaries

• If a team’s boundary is too exclusive the team might become

isolated and lose touch with suppliers, managers, or

customers.

• An overbounded team has a high internal loyalty and a

complex set of internal dynamics but an inability to integrate with

others when needed.

Underbounded vs. Overbounded Teams

• Teams can be underbounded – having many external ties but

an inability to coalesce and motivate members to pull together.

Team Boundaries, cont.

• Overlapping membership - several people are members of two

or more groups simultaneously.

Integration Between Teams

 There are three methods of integration that can connect teams:

• Liaison - a person is formally a member of one team but sits in

on meeting of another team to share and gather information.

• Cross-team integrating teams - a team composed of several

members from other teams with integration needs, responsible for

documenting and communicating changes and updates.

Teams in Matrix Organizations

• Representative integrating teams – non-management

teams with authority to make decisions that affect the context

in which teams are composed.

Integration Across Multiple Teams

 There are four types of integration structures for connecting

multiple teams:

• Management teams – forge strategy and direction for multiple

teams and make resource tradeoffs among teams consistent

with an overall strategy.

• Individual integrating roles – people in a specific function provide

integration with more flexibility than a team.

• Improvement teams – teams that initiate changes in how

parts of a business unit work together to improve business

unit performance.

Teams in Matrix Organizations, cont.

 Several methods have a positive affect on improving

interteam relationships:

• Perspective taking

• Superordinate identity

• Contact

• Apology

• Assistance and help

• Affirmation

Improving Inter-team Relationships

The Five Languages of

Appreciation in the Workplace By Dr. Gary Chapman & Dr. Paul White

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Acts of Service

Assisting in getting a task done can be extremely encouraging to a

colleague. Helping a teammate “dig out” from being behind, working

collaboratively on a project that would be difficult to do alone, or just

working alongside with them on a task, are all ways to demonstrate

appreciation for their efforts.

Acts of Service, cont.

 Task is a type of conflict that stimulates divergent

thinking in teams.

 Leaders who provide their teams with a great deal of

autonomy and freedom provide an environment that

fosters creativity.

 The empirical research on brainstorming has

conducted decades of research comparing the

performance of brainstorming teams with nominal

groups. The major conclusion is that nominal groups

excel over brainstorming teams in terms of quantity

and quality.

Recap: Hitting the Highlights

 The key threats to creativity include social loafing,

conformity, and production blocking.

 People on a team may be somewhat apprehensive

about expressing their ideas because they are

concerned about others judging and evaluating them.

The desire to be liked and have opinions that fit in with

the group is best termed conformity.

 A key advantage of electronic brainstorming is it

allows several people to suggest ideas at the same

time.

Recap: Hitting the Highlights, cont.

 Most people strongly believe that teams are more

creative than individuals when, in fact, they aren't.

Teams are better than groups at convergent thinking,

but they are worse at divergent thinking.

 People who don't feel respected by their team are not

as loyal or committed to their team. Conversely,

respected members of organizational groups that have

low status and prestige are the most likely to donate

their time to their team to improve its image.

Recap: Hitting the Highlights, cont.

 Team members tend to forgive serious

transgression/mistakes by in-group leaders but not by

other fellow team members or by the leaders of out-

groups.

 When people believe that they provide less value to

the group, they often prefer a lower status rank.

Recap: Hitting the Highlights, cont.

Recap, cont.

Week Six is the Columbia

Mission.

 Complete reading assignments

 Read Chapter 5 “The 5 Languages of Appreciation in

the Workplace”

 Read 1 Corinthians 13:24-27

 Review all web links provided

 Complete writing assignments

 Everest Simulation and Decision-Making

 Answer discussion questions

 Complete unit quiz

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What’s Next?

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References

Chapman, G. D., & White, P. E. (2012). The 5 languages of

appreciation in the workplace: Empowering organizations

by encouraging people. Chicago: Northfield Pub.

Thompson, L. L. (2016). Making the team: A guide for

managers (5th ed.). NY, NY: Pearson.

Weinberg, R. S., & Gould, D. (2012) Foundations of sport and

exercise psychology (5th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human

Kinetics.

Image References

Darth Vader. (2018). Retrieved from Google Images.

Garrett, E. [Digital images].

Google Images (2018). Retrieved from

https://images.google.com/

Harvard Business Publishing Education. (2018). Retrieved from

https://hbsp.harvard.edu/library

Stormtropper [Digital image]. Retrieved from

https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/u-s-marines-vs-stormtroopers.508862/

Thompson, L. L. (2016). Making the team: a guide for managers (5th ed.). NY, NY:

Pearson Publishing.

Weinberg, R. S., & Gould, D. (2012). Foundations of sport and exercise

psychology (5th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.